Dame Catherine Ann Cookson, DBE, was a British writer. She is in the top 20 of the most widely read British novelists, with sales topping 100 million, while she retained a relatively low profile in the world of celebrity writers. Her books were inspired by her deprived youth in South Shields, North East England, the setting for her novels. With 104 titles written in her own name or two other pen names, she is one of the most prolific British novelists.
Matthew David Jones is a British television screenwriter and television producer, who has worked on a variety of popular drama programmes for several television networks in the UK.
Matthew William Goode is a British actor. Goode made his screen debut in 2002 with ABC's television film Confessions of an Ugly Stepsister. His breakthrough role was in the romantic comedy Chasing Liberty (2004), for which he received a nomination at the Teen Choice Awards for Choice Breakout Movie Star – Male. He then appeared in a string of supporting roles in films, such as Woody Allen's Match Point (2005), the romantic comedy Imagine Me and You (2006), and the period drama Copying Beethoven (2006). He earned praise for his performances as Charles Ryder in the 2008 film adaptation of the novel Brideshead Revisited and as Ozymandias in the superhero film Watchmen (2009). He then starred in the romantic comedy Leap Year (2010) and Australian drama Burning Man (2011), the latter earning him a nomination for Best Actor at the Film Critics Circle of Australia Awards.
Angela Mellissa Griffin is an English actress and television presenter who has been active on British television since the early 1990s. She is best known for portraying the roles of Fiona Middleton in the ITV soap opera Coronation Street, Kim Campbell in the BBC One school-based drama series Waterloo Road, and DS Lizzie Maddox in the final two series of ITV's detective drama series Lewis (2014–2015). Griffin was also an original cast member of Holby City, playing nurse Jasmine Hopkins (1999–2001).
Douglas “Dougie” James Henshall is a Scottish television, film and stage actor. He is best known for his roles as Professor Nick Cutter in the science fiction series Primeval (2007–2011) and Detective Inspector Jimmy Pérez in the crime drama Shetland (2013–2022).
Ashley Pharoah is a British screenwriter and television producer. He is best known as the co-creator/writer of the successful drama series Life on Mars, which began on BBC One in 2006, and creator/writer of the family drama Wild at Heart, which aired on ITV1 from 2006 until 2012.
Oliver Lee is an English actor. He played the role of Josh Jones in the Channel 4 television drama series Hollyoaks: In the City, during 2006; and Aiden Scotcher in the BBC One school-based drama series Waterloo Road, during 2011. He was born in Greater Manchester, England. He is married to Sophie Rosa Lee, they have 3 children.
Ann Cleeves is a British mystery crime writer. She wrote the Vera Stanhope, Jimmy Perez, and Matthew Venn series, all three of which have been adapted into TV shows. In 2006 she won the Duncan Lawrie Dagger for her novel Raven Black, the first novel in the Jimmy Perez series.
Benjamin Charles Aldridge is an English actor. He has starred in feature films Knock at the Cabin (2023) and Spoiler Alert (2022) and is also known for his portrayals of Thomas Wayne in the crime drama series Pennyworth (2019–2023), Arsehole Guy in the dramedy series Fleabag (2016–2019), and Captain Charles James in the BBC drama Our Girl (2013–2020) among other work.
Vera is a British crime drama television series based on the Vera Stanhope series of novels by Ann Cleeves. First broadcast on ITV on 1 May 2011, it stars Brenda Blethyn as the principal character, Detective Chief Inspector Vera Stanhope. In January 2024, it was confirmed that the show has been renewed for a fourteenth series. It was then announced that the series, to air in early 2025, would be the show's last.
Shetland is a Scottish crime drama television series produced by ITV Studios for BBC Scotland. First broadcast on BBC One on 10 March 2013, it is originally based upon the novels of Ann Cleeves and adapted by David Kane. The first seven series starred Douglas Henshall as DI Jimmy Pérez, whilst Ashley Jensen stars as DI Ruth Calder from the eighth series. The cast also includes Alison O'Donnell as DS Alison "Tosh" McIntosh and Steven Robertson as DC Sandy Wilson, as well as Lewis Howden and Anne Kidd. Henshall won the 2016 BAFTA Scotland award for Best Actor and the series received the award for Best TV Drama.
Raven Black is a 2006 novel by Ann Cleeves that won the Duncan Lawrie Dagger Award for the best crime novel of the year. Raven Black is the first in the "Shetland" mysteries, a series of eight novels by Cleeves, composed of two quartets, all set in Shetland.
The twenty−ninth series of the British medical drama television series Casualty commenced airing in the United Kingdom on 30 August 2014, and concluded on 23 August 2015. The series consisted of 46 episodes. Erika Hossington continued her role as series producer, while Oliver Kent continued his role as the show's executive producer.
The thirtieth series of the British medical drama television series Casualty commenced airing on BBC One in the United Kingdom on 29 August 2015, and concluded on 30 July 2016. The series consisted of 43 episodes, including the broadcast of the show's 1000th episode on 25 June 2016. Erika Hossington continued her role as series producer, while Oliver Kent continued his role as the show's executive producer. Seventeen cast members reprised their roles from the previous series with five actors, including three long-serving cast members, departing during this series. Chelsea Halfpenny appeared in the serial between September and November 2015 as F2 Alicia Munroe, reprising the role as a main cast member in July 2016. Alistair Brammer joined the cast for a four-month guest stint as receptionist Jack Diamond in December 2015. Three new regular cast members joined the serial in spring 2016: Lloyd Everitt as paramedic Jez Andrews; Jason Durr as staff nurse David Hide; and Jaye Griffiths as consultant Elle Gardner.
Love in a Cold Climate is a 1980 British television series produced by Thames Television. It is an adaptation of the Nancy Mitford novels The Pursuit of Love (1945) and Love in a Cold Climate (1949), set between 1924 and 1940, with a screenplay adaptation by Simon Raven. It was originally broadcast on the ITV network in eight episodes. The series starred Lucy Gutteridge, Rosalyn Landor, Michael Aldridge, Judi Dench, Vivian Pickles, and Jean-Pierre Cassel.
White House Farm is a British television crime drama based on the real-life events that took place in August 1985.
Quiz is a British drama television serial developed for the ITV channel and AMC and written by James Graham, based on his play of the same name commissioned by William Village and the book Bad Show: the Quiz, the Cough, the Millionaire Major by Bob Woffinden and James Plaskett. It is directed by Stephen Frears and consists of three hour-long episodes. The series focuses on the disgraced Who Wants to Be a Millionaire? contestant Charles Ingram, a former army major in the Royal Engineers, and how he unexpectedly won the £1 million jackpot on the quiz show in 2001, followed by a criminal trial in which he and his wife were convicted of cheating their way to success.
The Singapore Grip is an ITV six-part television drama series. It is an adaptation of Booker Prize winner J.G. Farrell's 1978 novel The Singapore Grip. The story tells of a love affair taking place around the time of the Japanese invasion of Singapore. It stars Luke Treadaway, David Morrissey and Elizabeth Tan.
Grace is a British television crime drama series, based in the English city of Brighton and Hove, that stars John Simm in the title role of Detective Superintendent Roy Grace, a dogged detective who, haunted by the disappearance of his wife some years previously, solves a variety of cases.
A Cruel Love: The Ruth Ellis Story, originally titled Ruth, is an upcoming, four-part British historical drama television series for ITVX, starring Lucy Boynton as Ruth Ellis, the last woman hanged in Britain, and Toby Jones as her solicitor John Bickford.
